Aetheral Space

Chapter 442:14.16: Goodbye Guests (Part 4)

Many years ago…

Was the man training? ████ couldn’t tell.

The man made everything he did seem like a dance. As he fought the automatics in the chamber below, they were his partners, not his adversaries. The debris that rained down from his victory was not destruction but confetti. His laughter echoed off the walls again and again, like countless copies of him were enjoying the moment, a party of one man equalling the jubilation of thousands.

So this was a Contender.

████’s father had only been too eager to host this man in one of his hotels, and only too eager to give him unrestricted use of this training room. After all, it made sense. The Clown of the Supremacy was known not only for his capriciousness but his generosity -- his absurd generosity, if the stars were right. Yes, it made sense. Everything ████’s father did made sense in that cold, metal way -- he was a man who saw the world as a series of cells, and he had come to recognise the various shapes the bars took.

And yet…

████ brushed their long purple hair out of their eyes. ████ put a hand against the cold glass as they looked at the dance below.

At that moment, twirling in the carnage, Wu Ming seemed the free-est man in the world.

████ would…

Morgan would…

Morgan Nacht would very much like to be free like that too.

Present Day…

In the moment before Black Dog’s ability activated, that old memory drifted through Morgan’s mind. The end of life’s prologue. A second birthday.

Morgan smiled softly…

…and he kept smiling, even as his image was pulled apart by the dark of the void.

AETHERAL SPACE 14.16

"Goodbye Guests (Part 4)"

With a roar of exertion, Rufus pushed Bastardborn forward -- and the shield let loose a beam of bright white heat.

Mereloco’s strategy had worked. Using the focused gravity, Rufus had been able to brace himself and withstand the Praetorian’s attack -- allowing his Aether Armament to rise to a truly absurd temperature. To be completely honest, Rufus wasn’t sure what would have happened if he hadn’t fired the attack immediately. Would his shield even have been able to contain all that energy?

He didn’t want to find out.

More to the point, this wasn’t a plan that would work too many times. Even after intercepting just one of those attacks, Rufus’ arms felt like they were about to snap off. Intensified gravity or no, it took a hell of a lot of strength to hold onto Bastardborn while it took a blow like that. He’d had to focus his infusion nearly entirely on his muscles -- and so his hands were bright red and burnt.

The blast of heat slammed into the Praetorian’s right arm -- still outstretched -- and vaporised it up to the elbow. Golden ichor flowed freely from the twitching stump as the angel looked down demurely at its injury.

TO TRY AND ELIMINATE A MESSENGER OF LIGHT WITH ITS OWN DIVINE BEQUEATHMENT…

It looked up at them, and every single pupil it had access to shrank in utter odium.

WHAT VILE CREATURES YOU ARE.

This could not be forgiven.

It was one thing to strike an avatar of Her Majesty. It was one thing to attempt to block an avatar of Her Majesty’s attack. But to attack that avatar with power stolen itself from Her Majesty? That was another matter entirely.

Sinful. Indolent. Unacceptable.

A heavenly punishment was due. Praetorian One locked its eyes onto the three enemies before it -- Atoy Muzazi, Rufus von Frostburn, and Mereloco -- and prepared the retribution. It had taken all their strength to block a single attack. The obvious solution was to just hit them with more than a single attack.

Blez Peshi. Mind’s Knife.

Praetorian One divided its consciousness for a moment -- and each of those mini-minds activated Blez Peshi simultaneously, firing nearly a hundred cannonballs of singing brain-matter directly towards the shopping centre. In terms of destructive potential, they didn’t compare to the light of judgment One’s feathers could conjure, but a cluster of shots like this was far beyond Frostburn’s ability to block.

The damned chorus sailed through the air, coming down towards the building like a meteor shower, and…

Unthroned.

…they were devoured.

For an instant, barely a fraction of a second, a gravitational singularity appeared in the sky between Blez Peshi and the shopping centre. The majority of the shots were consumed immediately by the void, while the survivors were flung in every direction by the ability’s aftereffects. Pillars of flame erupted throughout the district as the shots came down, punctuated by celestial screams.

For a moment, hot anger rushed through Praetorian One’s veins… but only for a moment.

It was interrupted, after all.

"Radiant Almighty!"

Atoy Muzazi’s second attack struck Praetorian One in the chest, the devastation caused by the redirected bombing run serving as an effective smokescreen. This time, the attack struck true -- a golden gap opening in Praetorian One’s chest, spilling its burning lifeblood down into the streets. The Praetorian seethed as it glared across the district, red Aether crackling furiously around it.

FOOLISHNESS.

Red Wine Manipulation. UnDisease. A Cure for Wellness.

Three almighty healing abilities intertwined into perfection. Praetorian One’s missing arm and open wound flickered and shuddered like they were being displayed on a faulty videograph -- and, between one frame and the next, those injuries vanished. It was as if Praetorian One had never been struck at all.

Of course… the damage to One’s pride was another story.

OH, DEAR CHILDREN… HAD YOU ONLY NEVER DEALT THOSE WOUNDS… YOU COULD HAVE DIED SO EASILY.

Ghost Step. World of One. He Caused A Reflection.

The ten kilometers between Praetorian One and the shopping centre were nothing. In the blink of an eye, it was upon them, the massive form of the angel unleashing a burst of air pressure like a cannon going off -- like a hundred cannons going off. The slain thralls that littered the rooftop flew away like scattered leaves, and the living enemies nearly suffered the same fate.

If not for that damnable gravity.

A field of purple Aether kept the three irritations fixed in their places, and unbelievably -- unacceptably --

"Radiant Almighty!"

-- a fly was still biting.

With a snarl of frustration, Praetorian One slapped the Almighty out of the air before it could even get close. Atoy Muzazi was charging each attack up for less time than the last, and so they were getting progressively weaker -- which was perhaps even more infuriating. Did he really think he could take down Her Majesty’s messenger with such feeble blows?!

Praetorian One’s eyes -- all of them -- flicked around madly and independently, as if

With a thought, he sent the gathered smoke Inside the hollow arrow, filling it until it was close to bursting.

"You think this is the coup de grace?" Black Dog chuckled. "My Guardian Entity is still in effect, fool, and even if it wasn’t --"

The monster reached to pull the arrow out -- but as it did, metal strings lashed out of the darkness and wrapped around its arms, binding them tight behind its back. That, at least, finally seemed to get the seriousness of the situation across. The Black Dog’s eyes widened in alarm, and it bared its teeth as it looked down at Manron’s body.

The King of Killers had one eye barely open, and his lips barely forced into a smirk.

"Get fucked," he gasped.

"So what?!" roared the Black Dog, pulling at its bindings -- it would surely only take a few seconds to break free. "You already know your ability won’t work! All this is doing is buying time, and it’s a zero-outta-ten exchange rate! Don’t imagine some incompetent brat can --"

"The thing is," Morgan smiled. "I’m a copy-cat too."

K. Kindred.

That redirection doesn’t work on you, does it?

L.

These next words aren’t actually necessary, but…

Morgan Nacht opened his mouth and screamed.

"RADIANT ALMIGHTY!"

Light exploded from within the Black Dog’s body -- overwhelming it in a moment. It finally broke through the metal strings, but all it could do with that freedom was spread its arms wide as it screamed. A shining glow burst from its mouth and eyes as the Light raged through its body, its fingernails popping off one by one and cracks forming over its skin as the almighty radiance sought any possible exit.

The scream became a howl, and the man became a dog. Writhing in the divine glow, the Black Dog lurched towards Morgan, desperate to close the distance and end his life. Did it think that killing Morgan would deactivate the ability, or did it simply want to finish him off out of spite?

It no longer had the words to say.

Its shape distorted and degenerated as it advanced. Countless limbs and faces sprouted from the beast’s mass as it dragged itself across the floor -- Wu Ming’s face, Nael Manron’s face, even Morgan Nacht’s face, all of them distorted by fury and agony. For a moment, it looked like it would finally collapse… but no, it was just preparing itself for the final push.

With an audible screech of Aether, the body of the Black Dog became a massive hound once more, stretching across the room and rushing towards Morgan, jaw open and ready to bite down on his throat -- even as light bled out from between its fangs.

This abomination would last only seconds more… three seconds at the most. But Morgan couldn’t move. Could he survive those three seconds?

One…

The dog bounded forth…

Two…

The jaws stretched forth…

Three…

…and a subtle, nearly-invisible string severed the beast’s head before it could make contact.

The body vanished first, evaporating in the aurora of light that bloomed forth from its core. For a second, the head remained, still flying through the air, a single white eye still fixed on Morgan’s face. Slowly, just before the head fell, that eye closed.

Morgan didn’t know whether what happened next was a result of Wu Ming’s essence that the monster had absorbed, or whether it was something it did of its own volition. But, in the last moments of the Black Dog’s existence, it opened its mouth and spoke.

"Not… bad… kid…"

Light flared, and wiped away the shadows.

"Ten outta ten…"